The Four Brothers
by PhantomBrat
Summary: Four brothers are separated at birth.  Will they ever reunite?  Or will they never see each other as family?  What sate befalls them through their lives?  Only time will tell...
1. Chapter 1

Like a thief in the night, three figures stole out from the palace, each carrying a small bundle in their arms. They were headed into different sections of the city, but they had the same purpose.

The first bundle was passed into the arms of a nobleman whose wife had recently lost their unborn child. The second was stolen as its caretaker tried to locate another noble family's new home. The third caretaker lost his bundle amongst the reeds of the Nile when he tripped and lost his grip.

These two, not wanting to admit their failure, told the Pharaoh that they had carried out their appointed tasks and delivered the bundles they had been charged with to loyal noble families of his court.

Aknamkanon looked down at the infant slumbering in his arms, "Someday, my son, you will be reunited with your brothers."


	2. Chapter 2

**Bakura: What is your excuse for the later-than-late update? And I demand to know what monstrosity you were eating a while back. Say around Halloween time. You wrote it down before.**

**Blame my current obsession with Hunted. And as for my food, it's the latest in my list of favorites...Pumpkin seeds in a chicken salad sandwich. The whole seed, shell and all, adds more of a crunch than plain old chips.**

**Bakura: Disgusting!**

**Better than a brownie dipped in mustard, that's for sure. ^.^**

**Bakura: And you would know that how?**

**Dared to do it and I couldn't refuse a dare from my bestest-best friend ever. Besides, she got me a fruit roll-up as compensation.**

**Bakura: You're weird.**

**And proud of it! ^.^**

**^*^*^*STORY*^*^*^**

_Fifteen Years Later…_

The young prince of Egypt was bored. "My prince, your father has learned the very lessons that I am trying to give you. Please pay attention," his father's advisor, Shimon pleaded.

The prince sighed, "I am bored and have not the heart to learn today. Can we review this tomorrow?"

Shimon looked to the teen, "You are not going to make as great a pharaoh as your father if you carry on with this attitude."

"I am nervous," the prince admitted. "Father said that there was an important event that was going to happen and I want to know what has the palace in a rush today."

"You will know in time," the aging advisor stated, but added when the prince made to get up, "But you are to stay and finish your lesson."

He sighed and sat back down, knowing that his little interruption was going to cost him extra time in his studies.

LINE

Indigo eyes went wide, "I've never seen anything so beautiful! This place is bigger than our home. Why are we here?"

"Because the Pharaoh has requested you be brought here," his mother stated as they passed the entrance to the palace. They were escorted to the throne room.

Upon their entrance, the Pharaoh stood. "You've come," he stated. "Your name please, young man."

"H-h-Heba, my lord," he managed to get out.

"Do not be afraid of me," he told him. The Pharaoh looked to the couple, "Thank you for caring for him. Should you need anything, ask."

The woman gathered Heba into a hug, "Fare thee well, my prince. May the gods protect and keep you well."

They left before the teen could ask what his mother meant when she called him 'her prince'. Heba wanted to follow but was stopped when he felt a firm, but gentle hand on his shoulder. "Come, let's go and see your brother in his studies."

"I have no brother," Heba balked.

"No, you don't have a brother," Aknamkanon replied. "You have three. We are waiting for the remaining two and their caretakers to arrive.

LINE

"Put your backs into it," the slave master shouted. "You don't work, you don't eat."

A small slave tried to continue his task, going to fill the water skins to take back to his fellow slaves and the slave master. Halfway to the well, he collapsed. The heat, his wounds, and lack of nutrition had caught up to him. His collapsing caught the attention of his best friends and tentmates. They dropped their own skins and ran over to him. "Yugi, get up before you get punished again. Come on, open your eyes," they pleaded, checking for any signs of their cruel master or his favored slave, Ushio.

Before they managed to get their weakened friend up, they saw a shadow looming over them. "You three are going to the Market," the man behind them growled. "I will not tolerate lazy slaves. Perhaps your new masters will find something useful for you."

The two boys carefully picked their unconscious friend up and followed the slave master to the wagon. Once secured, they were taken to the slave market for sale.

LINE

"Bakura, hurry up," a lean and tall teen stated. "Marik said to get there before the good stuff is gone."

"Shut your mouth, Yami," his companion snapped. "Where is that miserable excuse of a brother anyways?"

A sandy-haired teen appeared, grinning like a madman. "Look what I got," he stated as he stepped aside, revealing three thin boys. "I swiped enough coins to buy them from the slave trader before the sale started. He said they were worthless anyways. He mentioned that the little one looked half-dead and threw him in for nothing."

Yami looked at the three slaves, 'What are your names?"

The two alert ones replied, "Ryou," "Malik."

The one named Ryou looked to the third, who was leaning on Malik, "He's Yugi."

"Well, now that Marik has purchased you, we'll need to get you out of sight before that dealer realizes that we're not supposed to have been able to purchase you three," Bakura grumbled.

Yami scooped Yugi into his arms and was shocked at how light the small slave was. They headed to a small building near a bend in the Nile. Yami looked to his two brothers and then to the two boys and the one in his arms, "They'll need to bathe before they go inside."

He led the two slaves to the shallows and watched for any possible predators while they bathed themselves and washed their injured companion. "Thank you," Ryou whispered as he bowed to the teen. "We haven't been allowed a bath like that in some time."

Yami nodded. He couldn't say much as he was shocked to see that the three slaves looked like himself and his brothers. Granted, his brothers weren't his brothers by birth, but they were delivered to their adoptive parents by the Nile in the very bend that he had the slaves bathe in. The small slave was still unconscious, but now that he was clean, Yami could clearly see that the three of them could be mistaken as their little brothers.

"You three aren't slaves to us, but are still considered such in the eyes of the law unless the Pharaoh says otherwise," Yami pointed out. "As far as any one is concerned, you three are our brothers. Should anybody ask, the story is thus, you three were too sickly to join us on outings to the market. You are to stay home and do what chores you are given."

Ryou nodded, "We understand. But what of Yugi?"

"He will be your responsibility to take care of until he wakes," Yami stated.

LINE

**Yugi: Hope you all enjoyed this update. PhantomBrat is busy updating Hunted and other stories that she has going.**

**Yami: I still think that Marik is going to get us into trouble.**

**Ryou: Everything will work out somehow.**

**Malik: Until next update.**


End file.
